Rickwood Field
Location | 1137 2nd Avenue West, Birmingham, Alabama |
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Owner | City of Birmingham |
Capacity | 10,800 |
Field size | Left field: 321 feet (98 m) Left center: 399 feet (122 m) |
Rickwood Field | |
Coordinates | 33°30′8″N 86°51′21″W / 33.50222°N 86.85583°W |
Area | 12.7 acres (5.1 ha) |
Built | 1910 |
NRHP reference No. | 92001826[1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | February 1, 1993 |
Designated ARLH | December 19, 1991 |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | Spring 1910 |
Opened | August 18, 1910 |
Construction cost | $75,000 |
Tenants | |
Birmingham Barons (Southern Association) – 1910–1961 Birmingham Barons (Southern League) – 1964–1965, 1981–1987, part-time 1988–present Birmingham A's (Southern League) – 1967–1975 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro Southern League) – 1920–1924, 1926, 1931–1936, 1938–1939 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro National League) – 1925–1926, 1927–1930, 1937, 1940–1948 Birmingham Black Barons (Negro American League) – 1949–1960 Philadelphia Phillies (Major League Baseball Spring Training) - 1911, 1920 Pittsburgh Pirates (Major League Baseball Spring Training) - 1919 |
Rickwood Field, located in
History
The Birmingham Coal Barons baseball team began playing professionally in 1887, with their home games at an informal park called "Slag Pile Field" in West End. In 1901 they joined the Southern Association.
Allen Harvey "Rick" Woodward, chairman of Woodward Iron Company and grandson of pioneer Birmingham industrialist Stimpson Harvey Woodward, purchased a majority share of the Birmingham Coal Barons baseball team from J. William McQueen in 1909 while he was still in his 20s. Immediately he began planning a grand showplace for his new team. He contacted
Woodward invited Alabama Governor
In 1912 a spring tornado tore through the field, pulling up the outfield fence. Two years later Woodward felt the need to have electric fans installed in the grandstands for the comfort of the crowd. The Pittsburgh Pirates also made Rickwood Field their spring training home in 1919.
Rickwood Field also hosted
In 1931 in the first game of the Dixie Series championship, Birmingham's 43-year-old Ray Caldwell outpitched 22-year-old Dizzy Dean, who had guaranteed a win. The Barons won the series 4 games to 3. In 1936 four monumental steel-frame light towers designed and fabricated by the Truscon Steel Company of Youngstown, Ohio, were erected, allowing for night games. In 1938, Woodward sold the park to Ed Norton, a local businessman. In 1940 Norton sold it to the Cincinnati Reds. At that time new outfield fences were built inside the original walls to reduce the field dimensions. G. J. Jebeles of Birmingham purchased the park in 1944. A ladies' rest room was added and the outfield fence reduced again in 1948. In 1949 ownership changed hands again, going to a partnership of Al DeMent, Al Belcher, and Rufus Lackey. They added a small restaurant in the entrance building in 1950 and installed additional box seats, necessitating the relocations of the dugouts farther down the baselines. In 1958 Belcher gained a majority share and control of the park. In 1964 General Manager Glynn West purchased 1000 wooden seats from New York City's Polo Grounds and installed them at the park. Belcher sold Rickwood Field in 1966 to the City of Birmingham, but retained a lease for the remainder of that year.
In 1966 the lease was transferred to
In 1981 Art Clarkson brought minor league baseball back to Rickwood with the Detroit Tigers AA club, which resumed the Barons name. He had a new electronic scoreboard installed at the park. In 1986, the Barons became the Chicago White Sox AA club, an affiliation that continues today.
In 1987 the Barons moved to a new facility, Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, in the suburb of Hoover. They returned to Birmingham in 2013 with the opening of Regions Field, just south of downtown Birmingham.
Current status
Since 1992 the ballpark has been under the care of the Friends of Rickwood who are restoring the facility to its former glory. They also host frequent amateur, police and semi-pro games and open the gates to visitors who can walk in and explore the grandstands or run the bases.
Since 1996, Rickwood Field has hosted the Barons for a throwback game in which both teams wear period uniforms. Each game honors a different era in Birmingham baseball history. Ballpark enthusiasts from across North America migrate to Rickwood to attend this AA regulation game, named the "Rickwood Classic", every season.[3]
The ballpark was used by several film productions which contributed to the recreation of the scoreboard and press-box and the addition of 1940s period style advertisements on the outfield fence. Some of these retro-style ads have been sponsored by real Birmingham businesses, including a section sponsored by the descendants of Rick Woodward that advertises long-gone Woodward Iron Co. The outfield signs were designed by Ted Haigh, a Los Angeles–based graphic designer and executed by Skidmore Sign Company of Birmingham.[citation needed]
As of 2005, the Friends of Rickwood have spent around $2 million refurbishing the grandstands, press-box, locker rooms, roof and main entrance to the park. Future plans include establishing a Museum of Southern Baseball.
Since 2011 Play at the Plate Baseball has held an annual 3 day adult baseball tournament with 4 teams from various regions of the country participating. The event is usually held in June.
ESPN Classic broadcast a re-enactment of a Negro league game played at Rickwood on February 26, 2006. It featured teams wearing the uniforms of the fictitious "Bristol Barnstormers" (named for ESPN's hometown of Bristol, Connecticut) and the Birmingham Black Barons.
Rickwood Field is also home to the Miles College baseball team, and Birmingham City High Schools play their home games there as well (Comedian Roy Wood Jr played high school baseball there for Ramsay High School).
On June 20, 2023, Major League Baseball announced that a
Popular culture
The ballpark was used for scenes in the film biopics of Jackie Robinson (42) and Ty Cobb (Cobb).[6] The 1995 movie Soul of the Game features the park.[citation needed] The field is mentioned in the Willie Mays documentary, Say Hey, Willie Mays!, while detailing Mays' earlier professional career with the Birmingham Black Barons.[7]
Gallery
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Rickwood Field facade
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Plan of the field
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Field
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Scoreboard
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Rickwood Championships
See also
- Labatt Park in London, Ontario, recognized as the "oldest continually operating baseball grounds in the world".
- Warren Ballpark in Bisbee, Arizona, the grounds hosted professional baseball in 1909, but the present stadium dates to the 1930s.
- Cleveland, Ohio, began professionally on May 1, 1891, with Cy Young and the Cleveland Spiders defeating the Cincinnati Reds. The stands are removed, and the bases remain similarly positioned to this day. Local leagues continue to use this park.
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ Mercer, Chloe S.; Melanie A. Betz (August 19, 1992). "Rickwood Field". National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014. See also: "Accompanying photos". Archived from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
- ^ Newberry, Paul (May 31, 2019). "Rickwood Field, nation's oldest ballpark, still making memories". The Cullman Times. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ "Cardinals, Giants to play at oldest professional ballpark in '24". Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- Washington Post. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ Peter Curi; Dee Jackson (February 14, 2022). "Over 110 years later, Rickwood Field's lasting legacy carries on". CBS42 News (Birmingham, Alabama). Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ Johnson, G. Allen (November 5, 2022). "Willie Mays is the best ever, not just in baseball but for all he overcame". Datebook (San Francisco Chronicle). Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- Benson, Michael (1989). Ballparks of North America: A Comprehensive Historical Reference to Grounds, Yards, and Stadiums, 1845-Present. McFarlands. ISBN.
- Wainwright, Paige. "Rickwood Field: Grand Old Lady of Baseball." Alabama Heritage, Fall 1995.
- Whitt, Timothy (1995). Bases Loaded with History: The Story of Rickwood Field: America's Oldest Baseball Park. Birmingham, Alabama: R. Boozer Press. ISBN 0-9636128-1-6.
- United States Geological Survey (2006). https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/search/names/125622. Retrieved February 1, 2006.
External links
- Rickwood Field (Friends of Rickwood) website
- Rickwood Field at Baseball Pilgrimages.com
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. AL-897, "Rickwood Field, 1137 Second Avenue West, Birmingham, Jefferson County, AL", 28 photos, 22 measured drawings, 58 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
- Rickwood Field Views - Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues